Air filters or cleaners, while being used in a great variety of applications, are particularly useful for filtering the air prior to its ingestion in internal combustion engines and the like. Typically, an air filter assembly utilizes a primary filter pack assembly located inside a housing, having spaced air inlets and outlets, wherein unfiltered air passes centripetally into a cylindrical main filter element and out of the interior thereof, with undesired particulate material being consequently trapped in the filter medium. Generally, in heavy duty applications, a separate secondary or safety filter is also utilized, for back-up purposes, in case of primary filter pack failure, and is often structured to remain in place while the primary filter element is replaced. This permits greater engine life.
Installation space for such air filter assembly systems, particularly when utilized in mobile applications, such as in trucks and construction equipment or the like, is very limited and access thereto, for maintenance service, such as for the required periodic changing the primary and/or safety filter pack assemblies, is often very tortuous. Thus it is important that such air filter assemblies be versatile in terms of mounting positions, be they horizontal, vertical or therebetween. In addition, the filter housing should have an air inlet opening that is tangent to the housing shape and should be both angularly and rotationally displaceable relative to its mounting base so as to permit both incremental circumferential indexing as well as 180 degree horizontal rotation thereof. In addition, a manually actuated, simple, locking system should permit simple installation, as well as subsequent tool-less removal of both the filter housing and/or the primary filter pack assembly. Ideally, the primary filter assembly should include multiple radial sealing surfaces and be insertable, into the filter housing, from either end thereof. The filtered air outlet end, which should be similarly attachable to either housing end, should also be incrementally rotatable, relative to the filter housing, to permit ready access for the addition or hookup of CCV filter and air flow restriction indicators. The attachment of both the primary filter assembly and the air outlet end, to the housing ends, should be via simple tool-less latches. Such noted relative rotations and indexing, between the housing, the end cover and the primary filter assembly will also permit ready access to an independent, separate, safety filter assembly, for maintenance purposes, and even permit the removal of the entire filter housing assembly, from its installed position or location, without disturbing the outlet attachment to the engine or the CCV attachment, etc. Finally, the several noted filter assembly components should also be of light weight, durable and corrosion as well as heat resistant, together with being relatively easy to manufacture and cost effective.
The patent literature includes a large number of references that pertain to air cleaners, their components and their associated elements, including but not limited to the following, some of which will be discussed in more detail: U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,899 to Gauer; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,211,543 and 4,243,397 both to Tokar et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,182 to Coulvonvaux; U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,458 to Machado; U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,337 to Benzler et al.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,545,241 and B1 5,545,241 to Vanderauwera et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,244 B1 to Wake et al.; and published U.S. patent application Ser. No. US 2004/0134171 A1 to Scott et al.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,545,241 and B1 5,545,241 to Vanderauwera et al. show a filter assembly mounting bracket comprising a flexible band with radially-inward projecting, spaced blocks, with these blocks being received within corresponding recesses, formed in the filter housing, to rotationally orient and mount the housing, while U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,182 to Coulvonvaux, discloses a spring clasp which allows a filter housing to be rotationally mounted to a support. None of these references, however, show the particular mounting bracket of the present invention which includes a short arcuate segment and a pair of associated grooves that receive T-shaped tabs or abutments on the filter housing, together with a manually actuated locking mechanism to affix the housing to the mounting bracket.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,244 B1 to Wake et al. shows a filter combination which has a primary filter element and a safety filter element, both having compressible urethane end caps, with a detent on a housing flange providing a seal and the retention thereof, of the safety filter, when the primary filter is removed. However, in this structure, it is the end pan or cover that securely holds the filter in the housing, and is not an integral part of the filter element. In the present invention, the adhesive that is used to seal the end of the cylindrical filter pack assembly also securely bonds same to the rigid end plate or pan, while, in the reference structure, the adhesive only seals the end of the paper filter and then presses against the end pan when the former is installed in the housing.
None of the cited prior art references are deemed pertain to the combination of features that constitute the structure and function of the present invention.